


Something More Out There

by FiveOddballs



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Lots of both, M/M, also theyre american, and overcoming problems together, the main focus is friendship, theres ships but
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8544847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiveOddballs/pseuds/FiveOddballs
Summary: Eight months after his depression worsens again, college student Leo Tsukinaga decides that he'd be better off dead. However, before he dies, he wants to fulfill his dream of visiting Area 51, so he begins driving across the country to get there. Along the way, he meets four people who teach him that there might be something more to life than he thinks.--- aka the knights road trip au no one asked for





	

As Leo passed a sign for some town named Piscataway, he sighed. He’d only been driving for a little over an hour. If he wanted, he could go back home without anyone thinking oddly of him. There was still plenty of time for him to turn back, to abandon this crazy idea and let his life go on, but the thought of continuing as he had been only made him want to drive faster.

He had been considering this for three months, but had hesitated for his family’s sake. They would be devastated, but in the long run, he thought that it would be easier for them. They would recover with time rather than having to watch him suffer and let him bring them down. Other than his family, no one would really miss him; any friends he had possessed had drifted away from him in the past few months. So he had decided to execute his plan.

He’d take a trip and fulfill his dream of visiting Area 51, and then take his own life.

Thoughts of suicide had lingered in his mind since his depression had worsened again eight months prior, but he ignored them. He had tried, really _tried,_ to get past it and to be strong, but he couldn’t. His energy, motivation, and even his inspiration to write had all faded, and he spent more time in his bed than out of it. He had nearly failed his first semester, and if he continued to do poorly, he would be expelled from his college.

Getting help was something he had contemplated, but decided against. His parents had very little money to spare and he couldn’t pay for medications nor for a therapist by himself. And even if his parents had the funds, he wouldn’t want to worry them. He had been doing relatively well with his illness since he had graduated high school and he couldn’t stand the idea of replacing his family’s picture of a happy, strong Leo with a worthless shut-in again.

Sighing as he slowed due to traffic, he looked out the window at Piscataway. It seemed like a relatively tame place, much unlike his home of New York. A neon red hotel sign near the edge of the town shone through the night. Almost as if on cue, he yawned. _Maybe I should get some sleep,_ he thought. _If I get tired and wreck, I won’t even get to see the aliens._

Leo took the next exit that led into the town and drove to the hotel. As he exited his car and entered the hotel, he saw that, while the exterior of the hotel looked rather unclean, the interior was fairly pretty. The walls were yellow and decorated with landscape paintings, and the floors were covered in a red carpet with a hexagonal pattern.

After purchasing a night’s stay and visiting his room, he decided to go to the hotel’s bar, figuring that since he wouldn’t be driving for the rest of the night, he might as well get a drink to take the edge off his nerves.

A couple of White Russians later, he felt a bit better, but had become annoyed at how loud the bar was. Deciding to go outside for a breath of fresh air, he made his way to the doors, nearly tripping over another man’s leg as he did.

When he finally made it outside, his flushed face was greeted by cold air and the smell of smoke. Slightly confused, he looked around and then saw a man standing to his left, smoking a cigarette and leaning against the wall. He looked to be about the same age as Leo, but he was a bit taller and possessed silver hair and blue eyes.

Leo examined him for a little bit, which was apparently too long since the man looked over and snapped, “Why are you staring at me, creep?”

“You’re the only other person out here.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to stare at me like some weirdo.” The silver-haired man took a step towards him, almost as if to come and strike him, but from the way his voice had slurred and the way he nearly fell over, it didn’t seem as if he would be able to. Grumbling, he leaned against the wall again and took a puff of his cigarette.

“Sorry,” Leo murmured, turning away and fixing his eyes on a tree. “I didn’t mean to.”

The two of them stood quietly for a while, the only sounds being the breeze and the silver-haired man exhaling cigarette smoke. The lack of conversation made Leo uncomfortable, and he eventually asked, “So, why are you here?”

“Eh?”

“Why are you here? At this hotel. Outside.” Leo swayed back and forth, careful not to lose his balance.

“None of your business.”

“Come on.”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Pleeeeeaaaaaaaaaa-”

“Will you just shut up?”

“I will if you tell me why you’re here!”

“I needed to get away from some shit, alright?”

“Oh, me too, I-”

“You said you’d shut up.”

“Oh, um… Okay.” Feeling disheartened, Leo turned his gaze to the tree once again. _It looks like a nice tree,_ he thought. _Much nicer than this guy. Maybe I should go give it a hug._

After deeply contemplating the pros and cons of hugging a tree, he was about to do so when the other man spoke up. “So, uh. Why are _you_ here?”

Surprised, Leo whirled around, nearly hitting one of the posts supporting the establishment’s roof. “I thought you didn’t want to talk?”

“Maybe I changed my mind. Answer my question.”

As Leo opened his mouth to answer, he felt any semblance of a proper response leave his mind. After a few moments, he offered, “I just… wanted a change, I guess.”

“Mm.” The other man exhaled a stream of smoke.

Wanting to prevent another awkward silence, Leo added, “So, yeah, I’m going out west for a while.”

“Where?”

“Area 51.”

The silver-haired man snorted. “You mean the alien place?”

“Yeah!”

“Why? It’s all just a bunch of hoaxes.”

“No, it’s not! Aliens are real!”

“No they’re not.”

“Yeah, they are!”

“Prove it.”

“How?”

“That’s your problem.”

Leo crossed his arms. “How about you come with me to Area 51 and see proof for yourself?”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course!”

“Why would I?”

Leo paused for a moment, thinking, then grinned. “If you win and aliens aren’t real, I’ll pay you twenty bucks!”

“A hundred.”

“Fifty.”

“Deal.”

 

\-----

 

Leo winced as he opened his eyes, blinded by the sunlight streaming through the windows of his car. Squinting, he saw that he was parked at a gas station. That was strange. The last thing he remembered was speaking with the silver-haired man outside of the hotel. The same silver man, he realized upon glancing over at his passenger seat, who was sitting beside him.

 _Shit._ His memories of the previous night came flooding back. Taking in a stranger was _not_ part of his plan. He could barely take care of himself, much less someone he barely knew. And how could he follow through with his plan of killing himself if he was supposed to be some guy’s ride home? But on the other hand, he couldn’t just ditch him at the gas station; when looking out the window, stretches of highway and sparse trees were the only things he could see.

“What the _fuck?_ ” The outburst from the man in the other seat captured Leo’s attention. He seemed extremely confused and was growing angrier by the second. “Who are you and why am I in this car?”

“Well,” Leo started, avoiding looking at the man directly, “if I remember right, last night we decided to go on a road trip together.”

“What? Why would I decide to go on a road trip with someone I don’t even know? For all I know, you could be a serial killer!”

“I’m not a serial killer! And last night, I think we were were both drunk. I know I was.”

The man looked at Leo as if he were insane, then shook his head. “Whatever, I’m leaving. I’m not going on a trip with a weird stranger.” Turning towards the door, he started to open it, but then stopped when he saw the nearly endless expanse of highway. Leo thought he heard him mutter a string of curses.

“It’s either me or hitchhiking,” he stated. “So either way you’re gonna end up with some weird stranger.”

The other man closed the door and leaned back into his seat, running a hand through his hair. “Alright. Fine. But you’re gonna turn around and drive me back to Piscataway.”

“Uh… Well. I can’t really do that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know which way it is.” The exits of the gas stations showed no indication of which direction led closer to the town.

“Great. Just _great.”_ He shook his head and pounded a fist on the door, then sat with his head in his hands. “Okay. Whatever. Let’s just go and get away from this goddamn gas station.”

“Alright.” Leo plucked his keys from their place in the cupholder and stuck them in the ignition. Once the car had been started, he turned right out of the gas station and began heading down the road.

After driving for a few minutes, the other man reached for the radio and turned on a rock station. They listened silently for a while, Leo focusing on the road and the silver-haired man staring out the window. However, after about five scratchy songs by very similar artists, Leo turned it down.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “So, what’s your name, anyway? I’m Leo Tsukinaga.”

“Izumi Sena.”

“Nice to meetcha, Izumi!”

“It’s a little late for that.” Sighing, he reached for the radio and turned it to a volume that threatened to make Leo’s ears bleed.

He had the feeling that this was going to be a very long drive.

 

**Author's Note:**

> \- thanks for reading!!
> 
> \- IDOL HELL NET STOP MEMEING ON MY FIC


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